Best of ARCHANGEL
by Meister Babylon
Summary: A bestselling anthology of Angel reviews and major events from ARCHANGEL, THE most comprehensive hobbyist magazine of the Angelic Layer! [Inspired by several authors' bio entries, including my own!]
1. From the Editor's Desk

**From the Editor's Desk**

Dearest Readers!

Welcome to the 100th issue of ARCHANGEL! It's taken 10 fun-filled years, packed with surprise announcements, hard-hitting reviews and the occasional bout of gastric trauma, to reach this momentus occasion, but, as is so often the case, it's not the destination that's important so much as the journey itself.

To celebrate the adventure, we've written a scintillating 10-page feature chronicling the 100 greatest moments in ARCHANGEL history. As an added bonus, our columnists and investigative team have delved deep into their data banks, revisited the top Angels and Deus of all time and brought them back in the most comprehensive Angel Information Index yet! It's all great stuff-- so great that I encourage you to stop reading my Ed. note right now and plunge in!

Alright, now that we're rid of those impatient bastards, I'm going to talk a bit the major events that have the largest impact on ARCHANGEL's as well as my life. I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't emphasize this enough: It's been quite a ride ever since the group of us friends sat down and decided that there was no publication able to satisfy die-hard hobbyists like myself who simply can't get enough of the Layer. Back then we started writing informal encyclopaeic pieces about our favorite Angels but by the time I clocked five for the Kluize family and Saint X did a very long one for Miharu Rina Hoshikawa's Angel Hinata Reiko, I realized that we had to share the good stuff with the world! And so the first issue of ARCHANGEL went to print, and ever since then we've laughed together, cheered together, cried together, witnessed the astronomical rise of our current champion Suzuhara Misaki from practical anonymity together, stood against the anti-free-press actions of Fender Corporation for our damning expose, mourned the passing of the Father of the Layer Mihara Ichiro and watched his greatest creation, as one family, finally take off to heights long overdue. And so for our tenth anniversary we wanted to do something special, something worthy of being a keepsake to repay our loyal fans for thick and thin we've been through. There we ran into our old bugbear, one that afflicted us when we first started out: the lack of a good title. Good ol' Jolsaer ultimately found "Best of ARCHANGEL" catchy enough to propose to the table, and even though I felt that as a title BoA was asking for a copyright lawsuit, I was defeated in a free-for-all boardroom Layer tussle that ended in a pretty weird score of 10-to-1, considering that it was a FFA to begin with. I'm still waiting anxiously for that legal summons, but hell yeah that was fun!

Now to be serious. Ahem. I would like to take this chance to thank all Deus and their Angels for volunteering their time and support over this glorious decade. Without their permission and patience, ARCHANGEL would never have the hard-hitting reviews and scoops epitomized the "lowdown-and-nothing-but-the-lowdown" reputation we have today. I would also like to extend our gratitude on behalf of the investigative team to our many anonymous contributors for their most valued input, starting from the most famous being Saint X, Alphamech, L-Liadon, Neko-chan, Raffles, Charlie See and many many more freelance sleuths. Our main sponsors Li-Eriol Electronics, especially Mr Reed, and Madam Yayoi Hoshikawa of the Piffle Princess Company deserve our heartfelt acknowledgements for their faith and financial support. And I would also like to give a big thank you to our dear "Lacus Clyne" Miharu as well as her still-unnamed "Kira Yamato" for being the best patrons a magazine could ever have. (And Kira marry her already! How long are you going to keep her waiting?) We're also not forgetting all the greatest readers in the world who have sustained us and reminded us with their unyielding support that we should continue to prevail, no matter how hard another Fender Corp tries to shut us down! Balls to your rotting corpse Nigel Duran! And stay dead! (So much for being serious...)

Finally, I would like to express our deepest thanks to Ichiro once more, for creating hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers everywhere, for building our lovely resident persocon without whom this letter could not have been typed out at such efficiency, and for giving us a game that captivates us still. Rest in peace, good friend. You've been greatly missed...

Last but not least, I wish everyone good fights and great fun! After all, isn't that what doing the Layer has always been about?

**Kha the Cleric  
**Chief Editor  
ARCHANGEL Magazine


	2. Rushing from the Air, Land and Sea: The

**Rushing from the Air, Land and Sea: The Reborn Magic Knights**

This is it, folks. You've begged and tugged for it, flooded my POP3 server for it, and almost banged my table flat for it. And now you're gonna get it! The Magic Knights have finally managed to sit still long enough to give us a few quick words. All three are still in their green Eriol Academy (High School section) uniforms. They are still somewhat breathless from having just finished a two hour session of cram lessons and their next match is scheduled to be within the hour. That's how the five of us, the Knights, my camera guy and me ended up in a posh cafe along Ginza Street and supposedly in front of the spot designated to be their Layer. Mind you, all this is coming straight from my pocket and so we're all just asking for coffee and tea, the cheapest thing on the menu, and clearly ruffling the waiter who seems to regarding us to be taking up money-making space. With the feeling that the waiter's tip was growing over time and that the Knights themselves raring to go anytime, I cut through the chase:

**ARCHANGEL: Is it true that you girls only just met?  
M**isaki: Yes! **E**ugenie and I were from different classes and for **N**anoka's case she had just transferred from another school, but somehow we all ended up in the same class this year.

**That's an awful coincidence. And given that all your Angels fall under the same theme, plus your level of coordination in battle, many of our readers don't buy it.**  
**M**: I did find it hard to believe when we first met...  
**E**: It's just _hitsuzen_. Trust me on that.

**Well I'm a believer of that principle too. Misaki has had very high profile team members before, namely the Prince Ohjiro, her mother Shuu, Hoshikawa Miharu and many more. Don't the both of you feel pressured to meet the precedent set?**  
**E**: I may have never participated in a pro tournament like this one before, but that's due to personal reasons. You can check your records and you'll find that I'm one of the five Arena Masters of the Tanglevale Free-For-All event held every Friday evening. That means I've been the last girl standing for at least twelve weeks straight so I have to say that I'm no newbie. My Faeries can take on the Silhouettes anytime!  
**N**: Ano... I know I'm not very good in a direct fight, but because Eugenie and Misaki have been very patient with me I can do my best in supporting them.

**How do you find your new teammates, Misaki?**  
**M**: They're good in their own unique way, so there can just be no comparison to whoever I've worked with before!

**Tell us something about yourselves that surprises others.**  
**M**: I used to read the boys' comic books and play their games back in Wakayama!  
**N**: Ano... I'm somewhat proficient at computer software. And I'm a Miko-in-training.  
**E**: Make that "own-your-pants" proficient! Nanoka just has this habit of understating herself... As for me, people flip when they find out that I'm a Newtype Coordinator.

**A _what_?**  
**E**: I'm born a Newtype, which is to say I'm psychic, just like my mother. She's far more powerful than I am though! _(Winks)_ And I had several genetic defects which my parents had them fixed with gene therapy while I was still a foetus, and that makes me a Coordinator.

**Yeah right. What am I thinking of now?**  
**E**: You're deciding whether Nanoka looks as good as she does now as she might be in bed.

**Hey! That's not true!**  
**E**: All men are the same. _(Rolls eyes while Misaki sweat-drops and Nanoka turns beet-red.)_

**Nanoka say something!  
N**: Ano... Um...

**Our readers find you so silent that you almost seem like an enigma. Perhaps you can tell us what Mona Lisa is smiling about**.  
**N**: Ano... I don't know... I've never seen the real Mona Lisa, only a replica that hangs in the Clan Hall. I only know that she smiles from every angle.

**Do you have replicas of many great works?**  
**N**: Mm! My father's an art collector and the Clan Hall has a permament display of his collection. He's very proud of them, especially the originals.

**Did you inherit his passion?**  
**N**: I suppose so. I sketch landscapes and people in my free time, though I prefer to do sewing for Fuu and maybe modify her Angel OS.

**Paint a picture of your love life for us then. Any heartthrobs?**  
**N**: _(Stammers)_ No time...  
**M**: _(Just as queasy)_ Do I have to answer that?  
**E**: Just say "Ohjiro" Misaki...

**You haven't answered yourself, Eugenie.  
E**: _(Coy smile)_

**We heard rumours that you left behind a childhood sweetheart back in Wakayama. Does the Prince feel threatened?**  
**M**: _N-n-n-NAAAAAAA_!

And before I could decode whatever that meant, their opponents showed up and that was the end of the interview. We couldn't ask for more, couldn't we? Now let's take a closer look at their Angels!


	3. Misaki and Hikaru, The Angel of Light!

**Misaki and Hikaru, The Angel of Light!**

**The Facts**

Name: **Hikaru  
**Nickname: **The Red Comet**, **The Angel of Light**

Angel Serial No.: **KAL-3172-63  
**Type: **Speed-Offensive  
**Vital Statistics: **3-2-8-4-10-6  
**Armanents: 2 x **Overdrive Lightsabers**, stored under forearms, hand-carried in use; **Brother Styler **(Base form)  
Optional Armanents: **Guts Styler**; **Shield Styler**; **Shadow Styler**; **Custom Styler  
**Classic Attacks: **Seirei no Hikari**, **Seirei no Ken  
**Deus: **Suzuhara Misaki**

**History**

What started out as a young girl's quest to locate her long lost mother became the most remarkable story ever told on the Layer, starting from Hikaru's legendary birth under the guidance of the Father of the Layer, her astounding rise to fame, the subsequent entrallment of all Nippon Angelic Layer Deii and her ultimate vicegrip hold on her title. She only lost it twice in the last 4 years, once during the year when she was absent from all Tournaments following her Deus' epic reunion with her mother and during last year's tournament when Ohjiro and Wizard succeeded in performing the first "Hyperalignment" phenomenon ever recorded, narrowly beating Hikaru and Misaki by a hair's breadth. This year Misaki looks set to reclaim her crown, having beaten Ohjiro in her Judgement round and maintaining her classic unstoppable winning streak thus far, ignoring that draw when Misaki met with an accident while pulling off a record-breaking "Hyperalignment" that overloaded the Layer generator. This would be the first year that the Red Comet would be participating with a Changeable Armor System (CAS) ever since they have been introduced a couple of years back in the _Angel Seeds _expansion set, and already the Rockman.EXE-inspired Styles are proving to be a force to be reckoned with.

**Styles**

Hikaru's set of armor was practically waiting to happen. For 4 years since her debut, no one, not even us, realized that Hikaru's base armor was built in the image of the buster-toting NetNavi Rockman. Now with the help of her fellow "Magic Knights" **Eugenie Kluize** and **Moriyama Nanoka**, Deii of **Umi **and **Fuu** respectively, Misaki has put together a terrifying arsenal of adaptations that not only solidified in canon the origins of her red jumpsuit but supposedly rivals Miharu's well-designed _Impulse Silhouette _derivativesthat the Angel of Light once fought alongside with. Focusing on doubling a specific stat and then adding certain features that bolster the focus, the Styles, called Stylers when in bot form, give Hikaru exactly what she needs when she needs it, for her incredible adaptability and intelligence more than makes up for the need for range- or function-specific modifications more commonly seen in such armor changes. The Stylers all have cute holographic "faces" on the inner surface that attaches to Hikaru; they're there for cosmetic purposes, but it just adds more public appeal to their already astounding track record.

**Brother Style Hikaru / No Styler form available**

This is the base form of Hikaru, and the one we're most familiar with. It's construction was fairly simple; Using the newer PC-AD Misaki stitched active fabric circuits into Hikaru's current armor and added docking points to the triangular wing lapels found on her back to allow the other Stylers to attach themselves to Hikaru. Like Rockman's Brother style, this armor doubly strengthens Hikaru's bond with other Angels, increasing her ability to emulate the classic moves of the other Angels. While this seems like a cosmetic reason to create an armor, one must remember that while Misaki has the photographic memory required to note the new moves, the onus is on Hikaru to interpret the actual actions. This gets progressively difficult as the moves get more advanced, an effect attributed to Hikaru's onboard Angel guidance three dimensional integrated circuits (3DICs) having lesser processing power than newer Angels.

Given such a focus, one doesn't help but wonder if something akin to Navi Crosses is in the works. Misaki admits that she is testing a prototype "Angel Cross" system, with Eugenie's and Nanoka's help once again, but due to the extent of Overdriving involved in such a system it remains somewhat out of reach.

This is the one of two Styles in which Hikaru is flight-capable, with her dove wings emerging from under the aptly named Wing Lapels.

**Guts Style Hikaru / Guts Styler**

This bulky backpack lined with Mechwarrior-esque cooling vents includes a pair of gauntlets mounted on the sides that house a Gutsmachinegun each for both of Hikaru's arms. Like all the other Stylers, the bot form is just the backpack flying around. In this form the cute Mettool-inspired face located on the inside of the Styler can be seen. As a Style it doubles Hikaru's Offensive stat from 8 to an impressive 16 and increases her Physical Strength from 6 to 9. And hence Hikaru packs more wallop with each punch and sometimes its enough to overcome Overdriven defence mechanisms. The Gutsmachineguns are mini-gatlings and are linked to the cooling vents, allowing them to be fired continuously for an extended period of time. Also, this pack includes a universal plug somewhat like the _Gundam Astray Gold Frame's_, a feature that has the hallmarks of Gundam-fangirl Eugenie, and together with her greater strength Hikaru can grab and use heavy weapons and sometimes armors against her opponents. As such with all the additional mass Hikaru suffers an agility penalty to her Quickness, dropping it to a meagre 6 when empty-handed and even lower when equiped. Also, Hikaru sacrifices her ability to fly as her wing lapels are under the cooling pack, relying on her newly installed Air Shoes for long jumps.

**Shield Style Hikaru / Shield Styler**

This circular backpack mounts a foil-based Mirror Shield and is the first bot Misaki throws in to intercept any line of fire. As a style it buffs the Angel of Light's Defensive stat from 4 to 8, allowing her to take more hits than usual. It also passively generates a C-Barrier that further reduces damage taken by sacrificing half of damage taken to HP as CP instead. Hikaru hand-carries the Mirror Shield in this mode on her right arm. This shield, like Rockman's, can absorb half of the damage otherwise taken from the first intercepted attack and restore that amount to HP. If the intercepted attack is ranged and energy-based, half of the remaining attack is reflected back towards its source. Like the other backpacks, Hikaru cannot fly with this pack.

**Shadow Style Hikaru / Shadow Styler**

The second most impressive pack of Hikaru's arsenal! The Shadow Styler is a small and simple concave oval that's flat on the other side, and when coupled with another Styler can render both bots invisible to the casual observer, great for pulling off a sudden tide-turning Style change. As a style, hold onto your seats folks, Shadow buffs Hikaru's Quickness all the way to a whooping 20 points! With Shadow equipped Hikaru can comfortably keep up to speed with, even outstrip, any Angel in existence. We can hardly imagine what Shadow Hikaru's match-up with the blistering "Inazuma Jounin" Suzuka would be like! Even though Hikaru suffers quite a bit for this speed boost, namely an Offensive penalty from 8 to 5, a Strength penalty from 6 to 4 and being unable to use her high-Willpower attacks like the _Seirei no Hikari_ and _Seirei no Ken_, she has demonstrated that she is capable of coping with this trade-off. And it is in this Style that Hikaru has a unique Overdrive poison, dubbed the "4 Curse", that dots the opponent with a HP bug if he/she has the number 4 in his/her HP counter while being stung, a disquieting play on how that number sounds like Death in Japanese.

What's a Shadow-style without stealth? This pack offers two stealth options, the first being Cloak. When Cloaked, Hikaru bends the transparent particles of the Layer barrier around herself to form a refractive cylinder that's specifically designed to cause light to bend around her instead of reflecting off her. As such she thus avoids the "Gravity Lens" effect from the now-banned Mirage Colloid stealth system from _Angel Seeds _that on closer examination would give away her current location. However, this ultimately is just a film around the real deal, and is broken when attacked or when Hikaru is on the offensive. The cylinder can be maintained indefinitely, as long as there is enough CP for its activation and upkeep.

The second option is the Phase Out. Phasing Out is accomplished by folding the stealth cylinder into a energy-consuming, body-hugging "suit" that allows attacking when cloaked. It drains a big chunk of CP, is broken when attacked, runs a risk of overloading the Styler and is maintainable for only 1 second, but that is more than enough for the quickened Hikaru to land a few critical blows on an unsuspecting enemy, or sting him/her with the "4 Curse".

Like the other packs, Hikaru can't fly. But then again, when she's so fast, does she even _need _to fly?

**Custom Style Hikaru / Custom Styler**

The Custom Styler is the epitome of Overdriving! It is a set of spaulders fixed to a waist-length cloak stitched of the same conductive material of the Angel Cord instruction receiver antennae found on older Angels like Hikaru herself. This construction boosts Hikaru's and Misaki's bond by doubling Hikaru's bandwidth for receiving instructional data as well as Willpower from Misaki. The immediate effect of this boost is that it increases the average Deus to Angel (D-A) synchronization rates. It hence allows easier entry into a state of "Hyperalignment", as well as increasing HPA D-A sync rates to even more impossible levels; In her last recorded face-off, she comfortably hit 275 percent synchronization, meaning that Hikaru was predicting what Misaki was going to do 2 and 3 quarts of a step _ahead _of her Deus! Till today we still have no idea how such sychro even occurs, let alone how does Hikaru's older 3DIC handles such calculations.

Another effect is obviously the increased output of effective Willpower from Misaki. This translates to the stepping up a notch of power for an already overpowered _Seirei no Hikari _and _Seirei no Ken_. In fact, Hikaru has so much Willpower that it is able to "bend" physical laws and even break free from them, just like the famous hero did in another cybernetic environment from a trend-setting trilogy launched during the turn of the century. Indeed, the Custom Styler is Hikaru's ultimate kill-condition!

All immense power comes with an exacting price, and Custom Style Hikaru is no exception. Because more Willpower is available, the Angel drains 150 percent more CP per strike or Overdrive. It is also exhausting for the Deus, draining Misaki of her own strength to the point of collapse everytime she equips the Custom Styler. In all the pack can only be attached for a short period of time, and Misaki has only that much time to use all that power to quickly crush her opponent before it overwhelms herself.

**Kha adds: **This article was published 3 years ago, making it one of the latest articles to make it into BoA. She has since gained the Mashin of the original Magic Knight, Rayearth, but that is for another article which will be published later. In case you're new around here, the vital statistics are the list of numbers that determine an Angel's characteristics and are as follows: **Height **- **Weight **- **Offensive **- **Defensive **- **Quickness **- **Physical Strength**. Next to be featured is the second "Magic Knight" Eugenie Kluize and her "Astray Gundam-girl" Umi.


	4. Eugenie and Umi, The Blue Frame Second E

**Eugenie and Umi, The_ Blue Frame Second E_!**

**The Facts**

Name: **Umi  
**Nickname: **Miss Astray, Blue Dragon Lady**

Angel Serial No.: **AL-0070-01  
**Production Code: **CMK-02/S-3**  
Type: **Offensive-Defensive  
**Vital Statistics: **5-3-10-8-5-7  
**Armanents: 2 x **Telescoping Vibroblade**, stored in spaulders, hand-carried in use.  
Optional Armanents: **Ares Faerie; Tactical Arms Faerie; Satellite Faerie  
**Classic Attacks: **Mashin Cannon; ATAS-Umi **Faerie combination mode**  
**Deus: **Claire-Marie Eugenie de Kluize**

**History**

CMK-02/A-3 Umi is the only Angel of the Kluize family that can perform Layer Overdrives, be it Magic Knight spells or Gundam Fighter attacks. Before the _Angel Seeds _expansion set, the Angel wore a custom-made female uniform of a Leutienant in the Earth Federation Space Forces (As seen in the first Gundam series ever released). The origins of her current armor, the Blue Frame, are rather shady. Like another Gundam-girl that predated her, Eugenie did not build the base armor herself; but rather it was produced by a third party company and was not intended for her usage. But her father discovered it along with the Red Frame in the trash while attending a staff meeting at Fender Corporation just after the MNC acquired KTAL from Li-Eriol Electronics. As it turned out, a top secret Angel was in development just before the release of _Angel Seeds _and Fender Corp, while collaborating the group spearheading the project, stole the technology to build special Angel armor of their own for reasons yet unknown. In the end, the idea was literally thrown out, and the Astray armors ended up in the hands of the two youngest Kluizes.

After several upgrades, Umi now sports a Gundam-girl design much like her "mother Angel" Mie and is based on the _Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L_. One of her unique features is that phase-shift capable armor has been included in the Angel's mantle as a reserve layer of armor that is powered up when her HP drops to 30 percent, conserving CP for the moment when it really counts.

**The Faeries**

Another aspect of her uniqueness are these bots that can transform into equipment packs like the _Impulse Gundam_'s. But unlike those equipment packs, each Faerie focuses on one aspect of either melee, range or speed while having features that boost the other two aspects to a lesser extent, reducing the number of armor changes required. This pack-change and hard point design was modelled after the _Gundam Astray Out Frame_, and as such Umi can use the _Impulse Silhouettes _and _Zaku Wizard_ _Packs _shipped in the Angelic Layer _Brilliant Destiny _expansion set. And by ditching her multipack adaptor that she wears by default, Umi can also be fitted with the Striker Packs from the earlier _Angel Seeds _set. However, the girl only managed to obtain the Wizard packs (Slash, Blaze, Gunner, the aquatic Noctiluca, the DRAGOON-equipped Providence) and because of the lack of an in-the-field delivery system rarely uses them in battle.

**Ares Faerie**

As a bot, Ares is a core fighter based of _Gundam Impulse_'s _Force Silhouette_ and is often used both in bot and backpack form. The differences between Faerie and Silhouette are that pivoting beam cannons were mounted in place of beam sabres, that a pair of beam javelins are attached to the underneath of the thruster block and that the nose cone of the guidance unit does not disengage when Ares goes into backpack mode. Rather the unit folds down and is tucked away under the thruster block in between the javelins.

When attached, Ares boosts Umi's flight speed and aeronautical agility the most while retaining some close-combat (beam javelins) and ranged (beam cannons) options.

**Tactical Arms Faerie**

It is the first Faerie ever built because Umi was designed with the _Second L_ in mind. Called Tac-Arms for short, this focuses on being the BFS (Big Freaking Sword) it already is while keeping mobility (verniers on the blade) and ranged firepower (medium gatling). It is rarely used as a standalone bot, or even in its backpack mode, as Umi tends to equip it outright and alternate between gatling and sword. The first Overdrive Eugenie learns is the _Mashin Cannon_, which uses the Gatling mode of Tac-Arms. Later, she upgrades the gatling to be able include optional capacitors for quick charging as well as some morphological changes, giving the Faerie a third mode, the revered BFG (Big Freaking Gun) of cybergaming lore.

**Satellite Faerie**

This Faerie is based on the backpack of _Gundam X _and exists as a bot most of the time. Floating at a very high point above the Layer thanks to the prototype Minovsky flight system, the Satellite is Eugenie's eye in the sky, providing her and later the Magic Knights with unprecedented battlefield awareness, tracking enemy movements and detecting stealthed or hiding Angels while providing light fire support from the mounted beam rifle. It is unable to use its Satellite Cannon at full power on its own. Rather, like a true satellite, this Faerie features solar panels which absorbs the Layer's latent energies and stores it in the Satellite Cannon to be released as a non-lethal deuterium energy laser that Umi or the other Faeries absorb to recharge their CP. As a backpack the panels absorbs Willpower from Eugenie and Layer energy radiating from the Layer to fully charge the Satellite Cannon to its maximum potential in a mere 2 seconds. In both modes the panels can be detached to form 4 additional bots with small calibre beam cannons that can generate _Solidus Fulgor_ beam shields around themselves, allowing the Faerie to defend itself in the case when all other lines of defence have been breached.

As a backpack, Satellite is kept on standby with the Cannon locked 45 degrees across Umi's back and the solar panels folded up into a 90 degree angle, two sticking out of Umi's top, the other pair out of her left. The Angel would detach and equip the mounted beam rifle, which capable of transforming into a small shield, on her left arm. In this position, the beam broadsword housed in the rear of the Cannon is within easy reach. When airborne Satellite shifts back into the form assumed as a bot, and the Minovsky flight system allows Umi to hover mid-air while she maneuvered with rocket and vernier thrusters.

Eugenie often deploys the bots in tandem. An common example would be to use Ares in hit-and-run raids supported by cannon fire from oribiting Satellite Faerie to distract opponents and harass ranged attackers while Umi closes in equipped with the Tac-Arms. Other examples would be the 108 Secret Faerie Skills that Eugenie claims that they have.

**ATAS-Umi **(Pronounced as _Atasumi_)

**A**res **T**actical **A**rms **S**atellite with **Umi**. All 3 Faeries can be attached to Umi at the same time, allowing Eugenie to focus all of her Willpower into one focused attack, often a super-charged Satellite Cannon blast, but it is done at the expense of mobility and melee agility because Umi becomes very bulky with all the additional gear.

Faeries in Development

**Zed Faerie**

An immensely oversized flyer that fits around Umi like a glove and turns her into a hulking bird 'o' war, with scattering beam cannons in its flight shield and multi-rocket launchers in the huge thruster block. Zed was based on the G-Flight unit of the _Gundam Astray Out Frame _and was aimed at giving Umi the ability to stay airborne indefinitely like Fuu. The end result however was a mass of armor that had the speed and manouverability of a bomber; it was far too slow to be useful. Still, Eugenie retains the Faerie's plans for she believes that there is potential in its future application in building other Faeries.

**Atas Faerie **(Code-named "Umi's Destiny")

Eugenie experiments with this backpack in the drawing board after being inspired by a MSV the _ZGMF-X56Sθ Destiny Impulse Gundam_. As a bot it resembles a floating coat of arms, and is designed to be used as a backpack most of the time. What is most remarkable is that the Faerie combines all of the primary characteristcs found in the other Faeries into one manageably big but sleek package, which would allow her to focus all her Willpower into one unit while keeping the strengths of each component Faerie without the bulkiness of ATAS-Umi. While it doesn't have the so-called 108 Secret Faerie Skills, it makes up for it with 2 anti-ship swords, twin telescoping Satellite Cannons with VSEMPAs and the myraid of technologies packed into the armored cover of the Faerie's energy wings. Instead of the Voiture Lumire ion drive deployed in the _Destiny Gundam _and the _S401 Stargazer_, Atas uses the Minovsky Drive system, a more developed version of the Minovsky flight system. The wings of light manifested by this flight system when fully deployed resemble butterfly wings, and can used offensive/defensively, from acting as giant slicing beam weapons, to providing an additional beam shield defense for Umi and/or her allies. The list of other chosen technologies included:

-- Mirage Colloid particle scattering system _(Gundam SEED Destiny)  
_-- Feedback Limiter Canceller _(Gundam SEED)_  
-- Super-microwave satellite base station receiver _(Gundam X, using the beam wings as energy recepticle for the Satellite Cannons)_  
-- Zero Deus enhancement system _(Gundam Wing Zero)_  
-- Minovsky Drive _(Victory 2 Gundam)  
_-- **V**ariable **S**peed **E**lectro**M**agnetic **P**article **A**ccelerators _(F91 Gundam)_  
-- Psychoframe Funnel cannon bots _(Nu Gundam)  
_-- Bio-sensor _(Gundam Zeta)_  
-- Magnetic joint coating _(RX-78-NT1 Gundam "Alex")_

It all looks good on paper, but the Faerie's power consumption is way beyond what Umi can support, not to mention being so complicated that Eugenie only has a rough idea of how she would go about building it. The N-Jammer Canceller, released in _Angel Seeds_, was banned after the first tournament round had concluded, further reducing the number of energy sources Umi had. And the Mirage Colloid has been banned for the current season. Atas may only exist as a dream, but no matter what, Eugenie intends to complete it in future. In her words, _"To finally fulfill Umi's Destiny..."_

**Kha adds: **Umi has undergone several extreme makeovers ever since the above article was published. In fact it was so large an extent that we ran an entire article about the new Angel later in the season. Next to be featured is the third and last "Magic Knight" Moriyama Nanoka and her "Priestess of the Wind" Fuu.


	5. Nanoka and Fuu, The Priestess of Windam

**Nanoka and Fuu, The Priestess of Windam!**

NEWSFLASH! An ARCHANGEL BBS Exclusive! Thanks to the great investigative work by our staunch volunteers, we've uncovered more facts about Nanoka!

Moriyama Nanoka is the daughter of renowned civil engineer Tsukimura Suzuka, a remarkable woman who was instrumental in building many of Tokyo's structural wonders at a time when Japanese gender equality was still a new-fangled idea. Now we know where Nanoka's violet hair came from! According to the elaborate post, she was named after a close childhood friend of Suzuka's as well as her rustic home town where her mother had found love while working on a government project. We know next to nothing about her father, except that he was the head priest of the village before he embarked on a long journey to an unknown destination. Nanoka is older than Naruka by twenty minutes, though her reservedness seems to indicate otherwise. She shares her mother's engineering talents, especially in computing, but not her passion in the subject, opting for her father's lineage. Naruka, however, looks set to take up the maternal cudgels. The girls have two younger brothers, both non-Angel fighters and hence were not detailed in this scoop.

**The Facts**

Name: **Fuu**  
Nickname: **_Kaze no Miko_**, translated as 'Priestess of the Wind', sometimes abbreviated to just **_Miko_**  
Angel Serial No.: **AL-2611-74**

Type: **Defensive-Speed**  
Vital Statistics: **4-3-4-10-10-5**  
Armanents: **Pluma Holi **shooter mode, dubbed the **Wing Bow**; **Pluma Holi** device mode, dubbed the **Wing Brace**  
Optional Armanents: None  
Devices: Overdrive **Barrier Jacket **top; **Vinci Fin **shoes; **Pluma Holi** sealed mode, a feather  
Classic Attacks: **Sagitta Magica **(Magic Archer, requires Wing Bow), **Stampedus Arcanum **(Arcane Stampeder, requires Wing Bow), **Exertus Magica **(Magic Missile), **Erumpo Arcanum **(Arcane Explosion), **Reactor Purge**, **Wind of Healing**, **Wind of Restoration**, **Wind of Protection**, **Wind Shield**

Deus: **Moriyama Nanoka**

History

What we know of Nanoka and her Angel Fuu is mostly pieced together by eyewitness accounts and BBS pieces, for Nanoka herself hardly speaks anything important about her Angel. And when you realize that ever since the start of the tournament she has never been Angel Downed (AD) or Layered Out (LO), that seems almost wrong. Have more faith in yourself, Nanoka!

Fuu was born roughly 5 years ago, when Nanoka was still studying at Tomoeda Elementary, the school that counts Kinomoto Sakura of _Tsubasa Reservior Chronicle _fame in its alumni. We don't know what impetus got her to create an Angel, especially when she's such a pacifist. Nanoka explained to us that she was doing that as part of her miko training, but she refused to elaborate, so no help there. Our earliest reports of people seeing an Angel named Fuu around the Piffle Princess were of one who "never wore the same thing twice, and was always practicing gynastic tricks and special attacks, and never accepted a fight, preferring to flee when approached."

Once Nanoka met Eugenie, who had just transferred to Eriol Academy (Middle School Section), 4 years ago at cram school, things became clearer, as Eugenie took over as the one filling in the blanks. Nanoka kept on stitching new clothes for Fuu, which according to Eugenie had covered the miko's room from wall to wall by then, while Eugenie drafted the young Moriyama into her intense training program. It was around that time when Nanoka developed the ability to wield magic on the Layer, in the form of her Wind spells. That got the interest of the big shots of the Layer, Ichiro counted, and rules were revised as healing magic was introduced to the Layer, a debate that intensified after Misaki's indomitable will kept her Angel from falling below 1 HP during her battle against her mother Shuu. But Nanoka continued to insist on abstaining from full combat. It was only until mecha pilot and miko heard of Misaki that Eugenie extracted a promise from Nanoka, that when they met up with the deus of Hikaru, the Magic Knights would assemble and join a pro tournament together.

And they did, 4 years later, when Nanoka received a scholarship at Eriol Academy and transferred to the High School Section. All three girls were coincidentally assigned the same class and have been inseparable ever since. The blue Magic Knight had taught the green one to use a Sagitta Magica bolt to weaken her opponent, then use her protection and healing magic, together with her flight spell Vinci Fin, to outrun and outlast her opponent for a very frustrating, but the only one comfortable for Nanoka, Time Out (TO) victory. Later, under the tutelage of her mentor Mrs Scrya, Nanoka learned how to cast some basic arcane spells like Exertus Magica and Erumpo Arcanum and acquired new equipment for Fuu, namely a costume she calls a Barrier Jacket and a transforming feather called Pluma Holi.

Barrier Jacket

This armor is christiened by Eugenie to be BRX-09-N1 "Hououji". When you read out the full production code of the fully geared Angel, it looks like this: AL-2611-74 / BRX-09-N1 "Hououji" Fuu, which, incidentally, is the full name of the original Magic Knight.

The Hououji is a triple-layered, battle yukata with a technological twist. The first layer is almost completely hidden and consists of "Tree Em" white-and-green ultralite polymer basketball shoes, knee length tights, matching sports bra and full-finger gloves. This layer makes up Fuu's coolant system, which is VERY important considering the large amount of cloth swathed around the Angel.

With the second layer comes the green colored version of the inner vest and skirt worn by Mrs Scrya's Angel, Reijin Hato. This skirt is mostly white, save some green outlining and triangles, is continuous with the vest and reaches to just above the ankles. Fuu's basketball shoes can be seen clearly, especially so when the green Vinci Fins are activated. The white, sleeveless, modified nagajuban functions as a cooling jacket, and the smart material channels heat through its threads to aid the next-to-skin systems while providing additional protection to the sensitive channeling circuits.

The third and outermost layer is the yukata-inspired top. It shares its color scheme with the skirt and is Windam-green on the inside as well as its outlines. The robe is wrapped around the body, with the left side over the right, and secured by a wide green obi with a gold and silver embroidered strip going around the middle. The shoulders are puffy and jut out in triangles before suddenly becoming form-fitting around the upper arm until about the elbow where they flare out again. The sleeves hide Fuu's hands (and Wing Brace) if the Angel bends her arms a little (think those scenes when Kikyo walks about with her hands hidden in sleeves that are flapping in the wind), but when held flat against her waist, the cloth would only reach up to her wrists so as not to get in the way of the Bow when the Angel is in combat. The sleeves end in a Windam-green false cuff with a gold stitch running through it. The most unique thing about this layer is that it is not present outside of the Layer; it is the product of an Overdrive and can be detonated, destroyed and regenerated repeatedly, hence providing the bulk of the armor of the Magic Knights' secondary tank.

Pluma Holi

Fuu enters battle with the magic device in sealed form, which is a white feather with a rune scribbled on it and resembles the ones seen on the sci-fi-fantasy television series _Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle_. This is her entrance cheer:

"**Windam no chikara o himeshi wo hane o!  
Shin no sugata o ware no mae ni shimese.  
Keiyaku no moto Nanoka ga meijiru!  
SET UP!"**

"Oh feather that hides the power of Windam!  
Reveal thy true form to me.  
By the covenant, Nanoka commands!  
SET UP!"

It sounds like a cross between the ones used by Mrs Li and Mrs Scrya when they cast their Angels, namely Avalon and Reijin Hato, into the Layer and has the same effect of transforming/unsealing the equiped magical weapon, in this case the Pluma Holi, while falling in. Nanoka calls this form the "Device Mode", but prior to this interview it had been dubbed the Wing Brace because of how it looks: an intricately carved bowman's brace for the right arm, with a pair of diminished wings originating from the wrist and arching over the fingers. This form is sufficient for casting all her spells save the arrow spells, which requires Pluma Holi's "Shooting Mode", more popularly known as the Wing Bow. In this form, the wings move forward into the palm and become joined by a black moulded handgrip complete with stabilizers that double as exhaust valves and scope. The rune-inscribed white structures also reassemble and grow to their maximum size. They function as the arches of a normal bow, flexing back when Fuu draws on the invisible string and places a arrow of Willpower on it. Range and power delivered seems to vary according to the amount of stretch given prior to launch.

Spells

If theres one thing Nanoka's good at, it's staying alive. The Winds do just that, healing, decursing, deflecting and even totally walling off all attacks. The spells' common drawback is that the turbulence they leave behind after they disperse renders the target unable to have another Wind cast on it until the disturbance settles down. This debuffed state lasts proportionately to the potency of the spell. In between heals, Fuu takes to the skies with Flyer Fin on her feet. The _Exertus Magica_ and _Erumpo Arcanum_ spells may do little damage, but they boast big knockback and are aimed to get mobs off of her. And even when she caught she can still detonate the outermost layer of her BJ in a _Reactor Purge_ to release her from locks and holds. Only after getting through all that does one have a chance of hurting her; Not everyone can do that.

The _Sagitta Magica_ is a swiss army knife of a spell, able to be fired individually, or simultaneously in numbers as dictated by Nanoka. Even the element type of the attack can be varied. Nanoka chants in Latin while casting, making it difficult for other Deus to counter with elemental opposites.

The _Stampedus Arcanum_ is Fuu's ultimate attack, and is once again named by Eugenie. The name alludes to Gundam SEED Destiny, after the one-use particle cannon deployed by ZAFT in a desperate attempt to defend the PLANTs from an all-out nuclear barrage. Fuu pumps every bit of Willpower into the Wing Bow, causing the wing arcs to inflate to twice their normal size as they redirect the energy into the bolt. Just when the arcs are about to give, Nanoka releases the bolt, and the wings spring back and that's when the reaction force proves too much for the weapon, and the wings shatter (Thus resembling the Stampeder cannon after firing) while the bolt explodes into a devastating cone of pure arcane energy. Nanoka has only performed this attack twice, providing that last push to the balance in a very close fight.

**The _Hikaru no Rase _(Spiral of Light)**

This is the attack that makes them the Magic Knights. It combines all three girls' ultimates, Misaki's _Seirei no Hikaru_, Eugenie's _Satellite Cannon_, and Nanoka's _Stampedus Arcanum_, into a spiralling column of light that homes in and takes out anything in its path, just like the combo spell used by the original Knights themselves. The charging phase of each component ultimates is also altered somewhat, with the mark of their patron rune gods or _mashin _appearing in front of the Angels. The ultimates are then fired into the symbols and they emerge from the other side as the manifested forms of the mashins Rayearth, Celes and Windam, who quickly fade into energy, entwine and start levelling real estate. Interestingly, the Wing Bow does not become frayed when using the _Stampedus Arcanum _in this manner.

This amazing attack begs the question: How do they do it? They won't let us in on the secret; its their strongest attack after all. Who'd give that away? The same goes for when they are approached on whether, despite the foreseeable difficulties, the mecha forms of the Mashin are ready.

"Keep watching us," we quote Eugenie.

Reported by **Kha the Cleric** and **Animal**

_Kha adds: And that wraps up this little section about the most powerful trio ever to hit the Layer. They've taken out pretty much anything in their paths and went on to secure the title whenever they are together. Unfortunately because group tournaments have always been rare, we've yet to see the Magic Knights take on many other famous groups, especially the G-Unit led by our favorite princess Miharu. We can expect such a meeting to be explosive, from the fact that every time _Aoi Ryuuotome_ (Blue Dragon Lady) meets _Souten no Tsurugi_ (Sword of the Azure Sky), the Layer they fight on always get totally trashed._

_Speaking of _Souten no Tsurugi_, thanks to _Saint X _she's coming up next!_


	6. Princess Hours: A Mechanical Fairytale

**Princess Hours: A Fairytale of Mechanical Proportions**

Cover Story - In Conversation with "Piffle Princess" Hoshikawa Miharu

The letter that summoned us into the presence of the Hoshikawa family was sealed in a white envelope with a wax seal, the family crest firmly embossed in the deep red resin. It's arrival took us by surprise, and usually dormant employees went into full gear. And the first thing I did when I got back to my office was to ring up Saint X and offer him a spot in our SUV. Our leading authority on matters concerning the Layer's favorite Princess obliged.

And so a week later, we marched into the Archangel-class vehicle and, after the routine pre-launch checks, sped for the Hoshikawa Clan Hall. There were five of us in all, each man and woman armed to the teeth. Soljaer loaded the full mess of mass communication gadgetry which only he knew what did what and where went where; Neko-chan packed titbits for the seven Hoshikawa cats on top of her trusty laptop and kitten ears headgear; Saint X was there in the corner looking as armed as ever, though I had no idea what he stowed away under that coat of his; I had my lucky Thousand Cross pen in my load-bearing vest pocket; Even cameraman Animal had broken the seal on his ultimate weapon of mass capture, the SonyHeliopolis Super-XDV Audiovisual Camera + HAV-28 Ergonomic Grip. The rest of the ARCHANGEL couldn't fit into our transport, but with this excursion being Madam Yayoi's treat, she had the Piffle Princess Bus Company provide us with a 40 seater.

Everyone settled into our reserved block seats of the Clan Hall fairly quick. As you all know I am not native Japanese, so I've never been to any ceremony like this and expected something rather formal. It was to a certain extent, when the Hoshikawas shuffled in, Mr Hoshikawa taking the front, Madam Yayoi next, then Miharu herself, followed by the rest of the family, as well as others closely affliated to them. The Piffle Princess wore a regal blue kimono, with a white obi that accentuated the grand color. Her hair had been cut to her neck and she wore cosmetic glasses that she matched with a blue gemstone on her forehead. The rest of the A list who entered via the red carpet out in the front was as long as it was astounding and even if I were to mention only those of importance to Miharu and the Angelic Layer in general, it would still be rather lengthy. Mr. Andrei and Yvonne Antonov, helmsmen of Antonov Industries and major trustees on KTAL's Board of Directors, graced this occasion. Daidouji Tomoyo, president of Daidouji Corporation and partner organisation of the Piffle Princess company, and her eternal sentinel Kanazaki Kurogane strutted in as immaculately dressed as a professional fashion designer could ever be. Multibillionaire Li Syaoran and his wife Sakura, both former lead actors of the evergreen cult favorite _Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle_, were not going to be left out. The Li matriach Yelan, Professor Fujitaka, Head of Department (Archaeology) from Tokyo University, Zhen Yang and Meiling, CEOs of Li-Eriol Electronics and parent company Li Realities Group respectively, arrived together in another limosine. Tomoeda Medical Centre's head neurosurgeon, who also sits on the Angelic Layer Research Committee, Thomas Kluize, his wife Anna, and their kids, namely Edouard and Claire-Marie Eugenie, who was recently crowned the 5th Arena Master of the Tanglevale Brawl, were invited as well. Animal pointed out that the mysterious Mr Reed was amongst the crowd of guests as well. Interestingly, the atmosphere turned lighter as the evening progressed despite all the evening gowns, tuxedoes and other high-society what-not. We listened to a brief introductory speech by Madam Yayoi, followed by another by Miharu before being treated to a mesmerizing Japanese fan dance by the younger Hoshikawa. What made it special was that Miharu wore a wireless DS visor and set up beside Miharu was a personal Layer with Hinata on it, dressed in a scaled down version of her Deus' kimono, and doing the graceful dance as well. So beautiful was the display of years of training and experience, of friendship and coordination between Angel and Deus, that it moved me to tears. _Sugoi..._

After a standing ovation, the proceedings broke for refreshments. While our staff mingled with the guests, Saint X, Animal and I got straight to business. We swam around looking for Miharu but somehow the girl had disappeared. We even bumped into the blonde Kluize we spotted earlier but after a few surprised pleasantries my section was on the move again. Sorry Eugenie, we're here for Miharu this time!

After a few fruitless minutes, Soljaer radioed that Madam Yayoi was waiting for us at the doors of the Clan Hall. She then took us to the hall's garden maze we had passed when we dropped in, explaining that this was where Miharu's cats hung out and naturally, so did their master.

"MII-HAA-RUU!" She cried to the expanse of green. "The ARCHANGEL people are here to see you!"

I was thinking that the crew of the Archangel would have sounded more professional when I swore I heard footsteps running away from the bush in front of us. However, before I could voice my opinion, our princess burst round the hedge with Lacus, Cagalli and Relena in her arms while the rest of the feline entourage gambolled by her feet. That inspired Neko-chan to blitz over for a kitty cuddle, knocking me off of my feet and the words out of my mind. I picked myself up and dusted myself off, annoyed that I had to repiece my sentence together again. However, just as I opened my mouth to tell Animal something, Miharu suddenly commented that his camera reminded her of something familiar. He asked her what it resembled.

"The Gun Camera used by the Gundam Astray Out Frame!" was her enthusiatic reply.

That brought a smile to his face and sparked off a rapidfire exchange of two Gundam fans about the twists, turns and weird technology paraded in the latest SEED Astray MSV series. (I'm a big fan too, but I got to be professional out here!) Madam Yayoi then decided that the evening air was starting to get chilly and led the way back to the Clan Hall. Because of their ongoing conversation, I couldn't get a word to Animal to use the IR mode to check for someone hiding in the bushes. Neko-chan was in a trance too. But I had to prove my hunch. I glanced to Saint X; he nodded in silent reply; and I let a breath go. At least the two of us agreed on one thing: the elusive "Kira" we were after was here.

We got a tour of the compound, with Miharu walking us through the four dojo halls that surround the Grand Hall like compass points. As it turns out, the Hoshikawas were one of the few samurai bloodlines that survived the turmultuous Meiji Restoration era, and the centuries-old halls had served as training grounds for the family's warriors. The Grand Hall, together with the gardened square outside, was the assembly area of sorts and played host to many legendary characters including the craftsmen Murasame and Masamune, modern Japan's founder Admiral Michael Perry and even the reigning emperor once. The front square lawn where we found Miharu is a landscaped Zen garden complete with rivers of pebbles and stone lanterns, the electric bulbs within cleverly tucked away from view. It is here where Miharu would often lounge in the cooling evening air amongst the company of her seven white cats when the day's kendo practice had concluded.

Like most samurai clans during the Meiji era, the Hoshikawa ancestors embraced Shintoism and erected a shrine next to their home. Back then only the family elite were allowed within the sacred precincts, but today its open to the public. After the Emperor Tokugawa's visit, he deemed the Hoshikawa clan to be most honorable, and supposedly entrusted the three Imperial Treasures -the Yata no Kagami, Yasakani no Magatama and the Kusanagi- to the household's head Master Yamamura. He then ordered the construction of the Divine Wards behind the Shinto shrine to house the divine artefacts, and hence the soaring curved roof structure prevalent during the time before the Restoration is evident there. The weapons are no longer held within the ward, but in due respect of tradition we were advised against a visit. Miharu then led us to the next site of interest there: The Omedo bellhouse.

The bellhouse is the kind that holds the giant bronze gongs rung by monks manning the shrine back in the old days. At present, the structure is maintained by the army of gardeners and landscapers hired by the Hoshikawa family to tend to the sprawling complex. It is here that Miharu would test her strength as a young girl as she tried to push off the striker on her own. She succeeded one day, despite her disability, and the sound both shocked and amazed her; Yayoi-sama later found her sitting by the bell both laughing and crying. Of course, Miharu vehemously denied the crying part, but you know how mothers like to tell the whole painful truth... Ever since then Miharu would celebrate her birthday by striking the bell the number of times equal to her age. For her coming of age ceremony, she managed 16 times. I tried my hand at it, and I have to admit it WAS heavy!

Our last stop was at the Eastern Lake of Peace. There the architecture suddenly changed; we found ourselves in the middle of a Chinese water garden, complete with jade-tiled arch roofs, intricate pavilions and lotus all around. As it turns out, the Hoshikawas have been in contact with several Chinese clans, the most notable being the Li family, since the last dynasty just prior to its collapse. There was an unfortunate break in relations during the World Wars, but both sides of the sea reconciled soon after the Allied forces took Tokyo. , gifted that garden to the Hoshikawas in 1979 as a symbol of hope and friendship in the years to come. The lake had been host to many significant events since. One of them was Miharu's First Month celebrations, held when the young mistress turned a month of age. This was a Chinese tradition, and it was held with the suggestion by Syaoran's father Li Jie Te, otherwise known as Jiet Li to fans of his various Hong Kong kungfu flicks. It was made especially significant for the infant was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot; in layman that means having a hole in the heart, and survival rates of such congenital deformities were very low at that time. It was rumoured that Syaoran and Sakura first meeting was actually here, 4 years earlier than the official one at Tomoeda Elementary School as suggested by their debut series Cardcaptor Sakura. Both the Lis and the Kinomotos were invited yet it seems both sides never met. When Jiet died in an accident while filming, a memorial for the late man was held there too. And when the Layer was launched, the Lake of Peace played host to the VVIP function.

We did manage to get a glance of the outhouse laboratory that saw the birth of "Striker" Hinata from the Lake. Unfortunately, it was just eyes only. Someone who's at the head of the game has to keep some secrets I guess.

Madam Yayoi left us in the seishitsu. It was a biggish place, trice the size of mine, and about enough room to sit a football team comfortably. The family's Hina doll collection was displayed on a five foot pyramid of sorts set against the far wall. The lone piece of technology laying by the Prince doll, a flatbed scanner that resembled a Hyren Testsquare, stood out from the crowd on the wooden slopes. While we were watching everything with our jaws to the floor, Miharu set her angel Hinata on the scanner kneeling and had a few words with her attendant, who promptly disappeared. She then found us still standing around like blockheads and it took her initiative for us to break out of our revelry and sit down on the fluffy zabutons. The maid, dressed in a white apron over her neatly arranged red kimono, soon returned bearing steaming green tea and mochi sweets. I mutely watched her set the snacks on the short table and shuffle back to the door, _awaiting another order_.

"No need to be that shocked," the girl had giggled. "My friends weren't even this stunned when they dropped by for the first time."

I replied with a nervous laugh, and that was when she leaned closer and whispered through a wink, "To be honest I'm not too comfortable either. This wasn't my idea. It was my mom's. If it were up to me, we'd be out in Shinjuku and I'll wearing my favorite dress!"

Ah that's the Miharu we've been waiting to speak to all day! On that, we let her have the first question.

**What's your secret to success?**  
Well, my secret to success? Let's say that you need to be not just lucky, skilled or destined... It's simply trying to make out life... Live as you seem fit and fight in your own way if needed- that's what my elders have taught me...

**We've heard rumors that you have congenital heart disease. Doesn't that make playing Angelic Layer, a highly vigorous sport, somewhat risky?**  
Where have you heard that? If you answered 'from BBS reading doctors', then your suspicions are correct- though that was two years ago- I had my heart transplanted with one of the best artificial hearts ever made- I'm sorry though since the one who created it- my auntie has passed on... Wiki for a Dr. Kojima- You'll be directed straight to her entry.

Angelic Layer then was not as vigorous as now, since most of the time you have to be mental and not physical... And even with my condition- which was fallotian tetralogy (tetralogy of fallot), I still managed to do kendo matches- in fact, I'm one of the youngest in the Inter-School Kendo Tourney- Elementary Division. The only bad thing though was the medicine my auntie and Dr. Sasaki had made for me- too bitter even with sugar. But since I now have a rejection-proof heart, good nutrition, do regular exercises and still keep kendo, I have no problems at all!

**We wish you good health too! Having been a warrior since such a young age, I suppose you have very strong reasons for battling?**  
Actually, the first reason was kind of selfish- being able to control a robot, like a Gundam. But as time passed, my view has expanded- even when the E-rules had been enacted and new sensations have poured in- my view on fighting has changed. Now I feel that fighting is a test of nerve among all things and also the only way to defend yourself if ever threatened- just like what happened before. To be able to fight also means that you are alive- and that fact is the strongest in me.

**Now that you're the Champion, what are you going to do from here?**  
I did not intend to be on the top- too risky and too problematic. I intend to re-enter in a different role- though it's a secret... if possible I would give away the national champion distinction right now... Misaki has the world, but I dont want Japan... or the world for that matter.

**We all call you the Piffle Princess. Do you intend to takeover as Queen someday?  
**Do I look like a queen? Of course not!

**We see that you're quite a mecha fan! It's quite rare for a girl IMO. We only know of one other Gundam girl, but she's never been in a pro tournament. How do your friends find your interest?**  
I'm the point of distinction among uniform friends. Keeps the company colorful so they don't mind.

**Going by the stereotypical conformist mentality of Japanese, have they tried to convince you to be more normal?**  
No,­ I'm a normal healthy girl...

**Is your interest just restricted to Gundam?**  
I'm a Magic Knight Rayearth fan myself... Though I love Armor Slaves as well... Even though I've heard that I'm the one who will be safekeeping my Auntie Sakura's card deck (closes mouth with hands) I should not have said that-

**What deck?**  
Family matter. (I smell something really fishy... But I'll let it rest... For now.)

**Okay let's talk about Arm Slaves! Rumor has it that the PS armor and beam weapon systems deployed in Hinata, along with the neural guidance system used by all Angels, have gotten the attention of various military bigwigs worldwide, especially for their pertinent application in regular AS brigades. Have you been approached? What do you think of such militarization of the Layer?**  
No I haven't. You should ask my uncle Andrei about it. As for me, I'd let them do what they want, as long as it is not for evil purposes- though rarely that is being done. But if that technology is used against any of the people I know or being used in a _totally wrong way_, I will personally see that group's destruction by my ow- I mean, by my uncle Andrei to do the busting- there is no weapon in this world (or others) that he cannot defeat- and I'm still learning how to do it myself… But Angel fighters are not like that. They do conform to battle conditions, not just blindly blasting away and tearing everything but their target apart. Instead they do holster their weapons and go hand-to-hand if need be. I must add that even magical girl-themed angels can beat a mechanized one- my aunt Sakura's Avalon beat Hinata a few hours ago. Nothing can be more precise than magic.

**I suppose that explains why you've been using more tech-inspired spells recently?  
**Yes... And no. Yes because, in the words of someone whom I don't know, "Advanced enough technology is indistinguishable from magic". It will serve as something to be more proficient in. But no because of that same statement taken from another viewpoint. Since I still focused on using technology, it will seem that I'm within my specialty and nothing else. Either way, it's all experimental; so far it's not been very successful.

**Back to our favorite V-fins. Some people have labelled Gundam SEED as a money-making ripoff of the original Universal Century era. What do you think?**  
Gundam SEED as a ripoff?!! Universal Century is what started it all and the Cosmic Era is only Universal Century for the new generation with the new social problems. Most renchus know of Gundam as Wing Zero and associates... Well it might have been better of course.

**If you were a Gundam pilot, who'd you be?**  
Just a lowly Astray girl... I love to work in the sidelines with the occasional frontline madness...

**You don't say... Have you met the Arena Master? She was at the party just now.**  
She came?!! (motions to attendent and whispers) That's great, we seriously need to talk...

**How about your Gundam then?**  
I dunno, what works for me... though I love to pilot my Angel's bases - the X-19 and the X-20 - you know them...

**Imagine that you've been out on a sortie. On the way back to your assault carrier you stumble upon a lifepod. Despite protests from your First Officer, you bring in the package and the engineering team begins to open it. Who would you want to float out? Be honest!**  
Hmm... (adjusts glasses) Someone interesting or just a normal human... Fate will decide. And... _Chotto..._ (looks suspiciously, cheeks starting to pinken) Are you expecting me to answer in the fields of Lacus Clyne?

**Yes.**  
_(blushes)_ To be honest... _(waves hands while we wait on in anticipation)_ I will not tell. _(We collapse from the anti-climax.)_ He's my fiancee since childhood but don't expect the words 'I don't like him'... _Demo... _If you ever try and bust that information out, I will personally slice you with my mother's Kazenagi Naginata.

At that point there was some commotion behind us; Animal, Saint X and I wheeled round. The maid who was with us earlier was no longer there and we found nothing but an empty corridor. Luckily, I came prepared; the IR mode revealed "several figures holding onto a struggling one behind a pair of sliding doors", Animal mouthed as we turned back. I was about to ask her some more questions when I noticed that, despite her smile and deceptively calm demeanor, she was cold-sweating and her hand had travelled to the floor. I realized that the sharp lady must have fathomed the GC's capability and was suddenly reminded of how there was a space for hiding things under the tatami mats.

Since all I had was questions pertaining to the enigmatic "Kira", I supposed that was a good time to end the interview and beat the heck out of there before I found out how does one hides a spear under the carpet.

_Kha adds: Too bad I cut it short. We now know that "Cagalli" met with "Lacus" after we left in that very room, and even in Eugenie's later piece for the "Angelic Fight in Tokyo: The Contenders" series of articles, very little of that discussion transpired. Our closest bet would be that Hinata's COMBO-Arms Silhouette was the test bed for Umi's impossibly advanced Destiny Faerie in Piffle's likewise named Destiny research project. What we'd give for a bit more foresight back then..._

_On a lighter note, Miharu is a nice person to be with, but she's really protective of "Kira", which is why even till today we've come no closer to unmasking that lucky man. I doubt his anonynimity would last beyond his wedding day. Until then, maybe that card deck thing would be a safer mystery to chase, don't you think?_

Reported by **Kha the Cleric**, **Soljaer**, **Neko** and **Animal**, with the help of **Saint X**.

- Miharu's cats: Lacus, Cagalli, Relena, Tifa, Lunamaria, Meyrin, Meer and, coming soon, Asagi and Juri.

------

The Facts

Name: **Hinata**  
Nicknames: _**Souten no Tsurugi** _(Sword of the Azure Sky), Hikaru's partner sword and shield

Angel Serial No.: **AL-JP-012552-XA-004**  
Production Code: **XA-004**  
Type: **Speed Off-tank** (Defensive with some Offensive)

Vital Statistics: **3-2-7-5-10-6**

Armanents: 2 x **"Armor Razor" kinetic knives**, stored in hip holsters, hand carried in use. 2 x **"Griffon Mk II" leg beam blades**, one for each leg, extending from knee to top of foot.

Optional Armanents: **Standard beam rifle**; **High energy beam sniper railgun**; **Shoulder beam boomerangs**- operable in justice mode; **Carry Shield **with beam shield generator + armaments in justice mode;** Striker Silhouettes** (Launcher, Sword, Lightning, Abyss, Noir, Destiny), **X-NU Pack Ver. 2.0 'Resolution'**, the **METEOR** unit (Mobileangel Embedded Tactical EnfOrceR)

Classic Attacks: **Freedom Assault**; **Meteor Assault**; **Gate Cannon**; **Signum Crusader's Cross**; **Singularity Breaker** (note: an opposite of **Starlight Breaker** - ask Mrs Scrya for details)

Deus: **Hoshikawa Rina Miharu**

**History**

Our apologies, folks. We've been requested to exclude Hinata's history from this Index entry for "sensitivity issues", quoting Ichiro and Madam Yayoi, and enforced with a bit of coersion from Miharu herself. Ouch.

**Ver. 2.0 'Resolution'**

No other Angel in the Layer has had as much coverage, as much exposure, as many relations, as Hinata. And so we won't be boring you with the details that everyone can and have found out from Miharu's blog (azureserenade . theblogprince . com). Instead, we bring you an exclusive look at Miharu's new kit, the _X-NU-V2 / X-004 Gundam (F-type) "Resolution" Hinata._

X-NU-V2 is the upgraded form of the original X-NU that replaced several of Hinata's wrecked Silhouettes. The additional wing binders on top of the DRAGOON system that housed the "Stellvia" particle launchers have been thickened and includes another pair of 5cm-beam-bayonet equipped DRAGOON bits, bringing the total number of bits to 10, thus rivalling _Astray Silver Frame "Sakurazaki" _Mage's _Akira Byakuya_ pack which also has 10. All bits boast a newer and more reliable quantum control system, and only need to return to Hinata for recharging before setting out again. Also, the original X-NU's OS was just a hasty marriage of the ones for the Strike Freedom-based Liberty and Infinite Justice-based Libra packs developed along with the Akatsuki-inspired Akira and Murasame-inspired Masamune packs (Used by Edmond Kluize's _Astray Black Frame "Kurohane" _Luft), and hence had several bugs that crashed the pack's targeting computer when weapons belonging to one mode were used in the other. Those bugs have since been ironed out.

Another feature of the new packs is the double guns seen on Freedom herself: the venerable Twin Buster Rifles. Carried under the pack in sub-lifter mode, they become detached and are equipped upon docking. They function in the same way; fast, light calibre fire when separate, slower loading but far more brutal when connected end to end. The difference between X-NU and Resolution is some cosmetic changes like additional hooks and hardpoints for add-ons. The rifles are also able to reassemble themselves mid-battle to include a beam bayonet in Lancer mode, or a gravity-lens grenade (GLG) tube in Launcher mode; however, it is only in the standard Longinus mode that the rifles can dock. The timing of the new weapon's incarnation is impeccable; just yesterday we caught news that the Piffle Princess would be leading a group dubbed the 3-girl "G-Unit" to the coming year's group tournament. According to Miharu, they "pack 60 percent of Umi's Satellite Cannon (Made famous by being instrumental in the Angel's surviving the Tanglevale Brawl) at a fraction of the preparation needed." Indeed, in a demonstration battle, along with her other mecha-inspired team mates, using the "Libra Battle Station" Role Playing Scenario (RPS) as a backdrop, Hinata single-handedly swept clean Terra Firma's orbit of Layer generated trash mechs with just the gun alone, and when used with the DRAGOON bits, obliterated the rest of the fleet. While her teammates showed their stuff in handling the boss mecha, Hinata set her sights on the Libra itself and, linking fire of the Stellvias and the TBR, tore the massive station apart in a single continuous shot.

ZAFT would've definitely wished that Hinata was on their side when Junius 7 fell out of the sky.

_Kha adds again:_

_During the Angelic Fight in Tokyo, a working Angel-sized cartridge loading system designated "CVK-792" by the AL research team was included in a field upgrade and vastly improved Hinata's burst damage output. It saw action during the prototype Angel testing round when the Magic Knights, having advanced into the semi-finals, were pitted against Resolution Hinata. Lots were drawn and Eugenie got the shortest straw. It was indeed apt, for the Arena Master was looking to test "Final Destiny" Umi against a worthy opponent. For more information, read the later article "Final Destination?" in the 17th August 2012 issue of ARCHANGEL._

_The Starlight Breaker, as we found out later in a interview with Moriyama Nanoka, was the Overdrive of another Angel belonging to Nanoka's mentor. It works by gathering residual Willpower left over from previous Overdrive attacks in the Layer and recycling them for another blast. For the Singularity Breaker, however, Willpower is poured into a Overdriven piece of Time-Layer folded into a incredibly dense point, hence that being dubbed a "singularity". The destructiveness comes from the way this singularity warps the environment around it due to its high mass as it is directed at the opponent in the form of a black relativistic beam and from the subsequent conversion of mass created back to energy upon impact._


End file.
